Jiang Shuo said, "It's okay if there's really a ship coming." He suddenly pointed to the east and said, "Ah...Brother Xu, look at the harbor right ahead. I didn't expect it to be so close."
Dugu Xiang looked in the direction he pointed, and saw pavilions and pavilions very close at hand. It seemed like a large seaside port, but there was a thick fog on the sea, and the pavilions seemed to be in the clouds. What's even more strange is that this port seems to be quite lively, but it is silent at the same time.
Xu Lai smiled and said, "This is also a mirage. What the young master sees is the projection of Penglai Water City in the sky. The real harbor is still ten miles away to the south." "
Dugu Xiang suddenly became interested again, stroking his hands and smiling: "This mirage looks so lifelike, it looks like there is a real city in the sea. It's fun, fun."
The boat sailed south for a while, and Dugu Xiang pointed to the red cliff in front and said, "Wow...is this cliff also a mirage? It's so amazing."
It was the middle of winter, but a piece of bright red stone was exposed on this cliff, which was not covered with snow. No wonder Lonely Xiang thought this was also a mirage.
Xu Lai said with a smile: "This is not a mirage. This Danya Mountain is the symbol of Dengzhou Port. This mountain is inserted from the land into the sea. Originally, the wind from all directions was quite cold, but there are hot springs in the mountain, so the snow cannot accumulate. , Yin Chi has not changed even in the cold winter. The locals call it Shenlong divides the sea. To the east of the mountain is Wuhu Sea and to the west is Bohai. Dengzhou Port is also divided into two. To the west of Danya Mountain is Penglai Min Port. To the east of Danya Mountain is Shuicheng Military Port."
Jiang Shuo saw Xu Lai and Peng Gufan sailing the small boat eastward, and asked curiously: "Brother Xu, we are not the navy, how can you go to the eastward military port?"
Xu Lai said: "In this weather, the Min Port in the west has long been frozen, and our ship cannot enter."
Duguxiang said: "Brother Xu, there is only Danya Mountain between Donggang and Westport. Is it possible that one will be frozen while the other will not be?"
Xu Lai smiled and said, "You'll know after Xiang'er went to see it." The boat went east around Danya and saw a vague waterway between the ice floes. The boat sailed along this waterway all the way to the shore. There, the ice floes collided with each other on the ice sea, making no sound, and it seemed very dangerous. However, Xu Lai's boating skills were very good, and no matter what danger was, he used his skillful skills to avert the danger.
Now you can see a small stone city on the shore. This small city reaches straight to the seaside. There is no tidal flat at all. There is a wooden gate on the city wall. Dugu Xiang said to Jiang Shuo with a serious face: "Brother Shuo, we are going to do it again soon." You will be put to use."
Jiang Shuo asked curiously: "What is the use of me?"
Dugu Xiang said playfully: "Does this wooden gate look familiar to you? Brother Xu Lai wants you to recreate the feat of breaking the dam on Heyin and break this wooden gate."
Jiang Shuo then realized that Dugu Xiang was making fun of him. Before he could reply, he saw Xu Lai holding a bronze fish talisman high on the bow of the ship. Upon seeing this, the city guarding sergeant slowly raised the wooden gate, revealing a piece of wood inside. It was quite a large body of water, and this water area was actually not ice-covered. Dozens of ships, large and small, were moored. The soldiers guarding the water gate seemed to be familiar with Xu Lai, and they were allowed to enter the city without inspecting it.
Jiang Shuo said: "It turns out that the Dengzhou Military Port is a large pond dug on land."
Xu Lai said: "Yes, Emperor Yang of the previous dynasty went all out with military force and conquered Goguryeo in the east for many years. However, due to the ice-blocked harbor, warships could not leave the harbor in the winter. However, the great architect Yu Wenkai came up with the idea to dig out this inner harbor and bring in sea water and water flowing out of the ground. The hot springs are mixed together, so they are not frozen even in winter. The port and stone city built around this square pond are called "Penglai Water City". "
Dugu asked and said with a smile, "So what if the military port does not freeze? The warships passed through the Wuhu Sea. If the Northland over there is not still a world of ice and snow, how can we save the war?"
Xu Lai said: "What Dugu Zhang said is right. Although manpower is clever, it will never be able to defeat the sky. Even in the Sui Dynasty, Goguryeo was not conquered until the first year of the Zongzhang Dynasty. Most of Goguryeo's navy also set out from this water city."
At this moment, the boat was already sailing in the Penglai Water City. Jiang Shuo saw that the navy warships docked on both sides were indeed huge and sturdy. Among them were huge loach boats with racket poles hanging on them, and of course the others were smaller. The ship can only be called a warship. There is no shipping service in Jiangshuo, and we don’t know how to organize it.
Duguxiang said: "Brother Xu, you are in black and white
Are they all very tasty? I just took a pirate ship back to the north, and now I have to dock at an army port? "
Xu Lai said with a smile: "Xian'er is joking. I travel on Beidao Road all year round to various islands, so I am familiar with all parties. As for this military port, I have a disciple's grandfather who serves as a garrison in this city, so he gave me permission to do so. Entering the harbor in winter."
While they were talking, the boat had already docked, and they saw a team of horses galloping towards the shore. They were still far away before they reined in their horses. One of them, a young man in bright clothes and an angry horse, rolled off the saddle and dismounted, and hurriedly arrived in front of Xu Lai in a few steps. , bowed to the ground and said: "Master has always been kind, Shen'er is so polite."
Xu Lai smiled and said, "Shen'er, you don't have to be polite. This is the leader of our Cao Gang, Jiang Shuo, whom I have always told you. I'll go back to him. Come and meet me." Then he turned to Jiang Shuo and said, "Young Master, this is He is the son of the local garrison, named Niu Shen."
Niu Shen hurriedly stepped forward to pay homage to Jiang Shuo. He had admired him for a long time, but he was surprised in his heart. It turned out that Young Master Jiang was so young, but he didn't know what extraordinary abilities he had. Master Xu was so admired by hundreds of people.
Niu Shen took a step forward and knelt down on one knee. Jiang Shuo hurriedly stepped forward to support him and said, "Brother Niu, you are still older than me. You must not be like this." As he said this, he stretched out his hand and gently touched Niu Shen's arms. Tuo, help Niu Shen up.
Although Xu Lai's kung fu is not as good as that of Yin Ziqi and Jiang Shuo, he can still be regarded as a leader among the Qi warriors. Niu Shen was his true disciple, and his martial arts skills were not weak. Xu Lai's kung fu was particularly stable. When Niu Shen bowed down, he secretly used his internal strength to perform a thousand-jin falling kung fu. The man was firmly nailed to the ground, wanting to see what Jiang Shuo could do.
Jiang Shuo was still unknown, his hands were still lifting upwards. Niu Shen suddenly felt a huge force coming from under his arms, but he could not withstand it. He was lifted up without any delay. He was rising very fiercely. According to this, He had to fly off the ground to get down, but he was only halfway up when he suddenly felt the force under his arms pulling him down, and he stood up straight.
But in the eyes of outsiders, Niu Shen went from bowing, to kneeling, to strong support, and Niu Shen stood up in one go. Outsiders have no way of knowing the subtle competition between the two.
Jiang Shuo not only showed his strength but also saved Niu Shen's face. Niu Shen was naturally grateful. At this moment, he also knew that Jiang Shuo's kung fu was infinitely better than his own, so he sincerely saluted with crossed arms.
Xu Lai introduced Dugu Wen and others to Niu Shen one by one. Niu Shen hurriedly saluted everyone. When he arrived at the last Jing Zhencheng, he suddenly felt that this person looked familiar. While he was looking at it, Jing Zhencheng suddenly said to Niu Shen : "Nephew Niu Shi, don't you recognize me?"
Niu Shen couldn't help being shocked when he saw it was Jing Zhicheng, and said with a dry smile: "It turns out to be Senior Jing from Japan."
Jing Zhencheng showed no embarrassment and said with a smile: "How are you?"
Dugu Xiang said: "Jing Lang, you still recognize Niu Shen's."
Jing Zhencheng smiled and said: "Speaking of which, you all recognize this person. He is Li Shijun's former aide, Niu Su!":
As soon as this statement came out, not only Jiang Shuo, but also Dugu and his grandson were all shocked. Jing Zhencheng said that he first found out that Li Yong's massacre of the Japanese envoys sent to Tang Dynasty came from Niu Su. Everyone thought he was dead, but they didn't expect him to be alive all the time. In the human world, Jing Zhen only obtained complete information from Niu Su, and I am afraid that the means he used were not aboveboard. Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help but get worried.
However, Niu Shen did not say any more, and Jing Zhencheng also remained silent. At this moment, the sound of "dang-dang-dang" suddenly came from the two towers near the sea. Niu Shen said nervously: "There is someone coming from the sea!"
Fourteen years ago, in the 20th year of Kaiyuan, Dengzhou, which had been lax in military preparations for a long time, was captured by Zhang Wenxiu, a general dispatched by the Bohai King. Wei Jun, the governor of Dengzhou, was killed. Since then, Penglai Water City and Dengzhou city defenses have been strengthened. I have learned a lot and dare not slack off. Therefore, the sound of "Dang Dang" was heard, and a large number of Tang troops immediately swarmed up the city wall, preparing to defend and attack.
Niu Shen also led the cavalry and ran through the streets in Shuicheng to the seaside. Jiang Shuo said to Dugu Xiang, "Let's go and have a look."
These words were in line with Dugu Xiang's thoughts, so he went as he wished. Before he could say the word "good", he was already running down with the cavalry. Seeing this, Jiang Shuo, Dugu Wen and others also started running after the cavalry.
Niu Shen was running when he suddenly saw Dugu Xiang and Jiang Shuo approaching from a distance. He couldn't help but be shocked. Although the horses they were riding on were not BMWs and fine horses,
But his leg strength is also quite good, and he has never been overtaken by anyone, let alone two young boys and girls.
He gritted his teeth and urged the horse to run faster. Jiang Shuo knew that Niu Shen was doing this to save his face, so he did not chase after him. He just grabbed Lonely Xiang and followed Niu Shen and the others at a leisurely pace.
After running like this for a while, Niu Shen was the first to reach the tower in the north of Penglai Water City. After a while, Jiang Shuo and Dugu Xiang also arrived together. The two of them did not row a boat, but performed the magical light skill of walking through the stars on land. Follow closely behind Niu Shen. Niu Shen saw that the two of them remained calm and breathless, and knew that they had not tried their best, so he did not dare to underestimate them.
Jiang Shuo grabbed the battlements with both hands and looked down. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the vast sea of ice. However, after being pointed out by the soldiers watching from the top of the city, he discovered that there was a ship stuck among the ice floes on the far north ice. A large ship was in hot pursuit, but it was also limited by the ice sea, and it seemed a little unable to sail among the ice floes.
The place where the ship was trapped was still an arrow away from Penglai Water City. Although the Tang army's archers were already in position, they were really capable and couldn't hit the opponent with their arrows.
Jiang Shuo said, "I'll go take a look." He jumped down from the top of the city.
